Fireflies at Dawn
by whisper.zed
Summary: Meet Hotaru, your average egoistic ninja in the Akatsuki. Watch as the chaos unfolds within our favorite group of lovable criminals as Hotaru goes on random adventures/misadventures  you decide ! T for the inevitable language and violence!
1. Welcome to my Mind

**So, this is a fanfiction. Yeah, I hope you knew that.**

**Anyway, this has been in my head for a long, long while. The beginning is a bit straightforward. Please excuse my darling OC's ego. She'll describe herself, and I meant for it to be very dramatic/cheesy. Please just read it and get the joke… ^v^**

**Disclaimer! As aforementioned (I love that word) this is a fanfiction, so obviously I own nothing but the OC and the clothes on my back and the computer I used to type this up and cinnamon. I like cinnamon.**

**Chapter One! Welcome to My Mind **

**Enjoy!~**

Hello! Welcome to my mind!

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Well, that sounded creepy.

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Oh well…

Anywhoozle, a bit about me… Name: Hyuuga Hotaru; Affiliation: (ex-)Konoha, Akatsuki; Registration ID: 012117; Birthday: June 19; Blood type: A; Height: 155 cm; Weight: 52 kg; Wanted: theft of private property, harassment (?), kidnapping, abduction and torture of civilians, unauthorized attack and destruction of cities, multiple accounts of murder, minor in possession of alcohol, distribution of alcohol among minors, possession of drug paraphernalia, cannibalism (?), aiding in the Uchiha clan massacre, blah, blah, blah… Bio: …

Well, that was my page in the bingo book! Yeah, don't ask about the drugs. I gave them to some kids I… kidnapped…

I hate my picture. I mean, I look good (as always XD), but you can see down my shirt and stuff. I don't want lonely ninja on missions to be… yeah…

Oh, what do I look like? Well, _I'd_ describe myself as having soft, flawless, glowing pale skin, and a perfect, voluptuous body that Jashin-sama himself crafted, and shiny, silky, awesome black hair that brings out my ultra-amazing eyes, the color of moonlight on a softly flowing stream… Sigh…

Others would say that I'm short, skinny (name a kunoichi _without _a nice body), have black hair that falls to my hips, pale skin, and pale Byakugan eyes. They might also mention I have a bit of an ego...

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A bit of an ego!

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That makes me laugh!

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I have an ego the size of the Land of Wind, and I'll admit it with a (charming, amazing, ultra-fantabulous) smile. I have a reason to think I'm the shit, mind you, and I know it! How 'bout I tell you how amazing I am.

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Oh, you don't think I'm amazing?

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Well… you disgust me to, you stupid, loyal ninja!

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Alright, since I take it you don't really like my ego, I'll just tell you some stuff about me! If you _didn't_ notice, I didn't read my bio to you from the bingo book because it's… wrong to say the least.

I'll sum up my bio from the bingo book for ya:

Hyuuga Hotaru is a demented child who enjoys the suffering of innocent people and destruction. She was a very bad girl when she did all the bad, bad shit mentioned above. She shows signs of psychopathic behavior that is increased by her insomnia. She will not hesitate to maim and/or slaughter you if you get your nose into her shit. She, now, works as an information gatherer for the uber-evil Akatsuki and is always watching you with her many creepy eyes she stole from other Hyuuga with a kinjutsu! Panic! Evil overload! Hyperventilate! D:

If you read that with a high voice, you really get the full effect! ^v^

_I_ think the writers are just ding-dongs who can't comprehend that I have… different… opinions than the general populations. (This means I'm wrong, by the way. )

So, the only thing they remotely got was me being an insomniac and killing you on sight!

Insomnia probably is the reason I'm S-rank or even a criminal for that matter, but it fucking sucks, anyway!

Oh, the S-rank because I train at night when all those pathetic folks who need _sleep_… er, _sleep_, and the criminal because staying up all night really makes you bored and want to practice your torture methods on "innocent" civilians without authorization and shit like that! ^v^

Yeah, I _am_ a sadist, otherwise I wouldn't have more or less specialized in torture, now would I? I like other's suffering to an extent, but other than that I like… cereal… and… rain… and… me! I hate just about everything and everyone else. Inanimate objects and people have to _earn_ my love!

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Okay, I'm ranting.

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Oh, yeah, my life! Well, in brief I'm a branch member, and hated my seal that took away my freedom, and stole the scrolls and freed myself with my knowledge of fuuinjustu (thank you, insomnia!) but not before testing it on other sealed branch members of which I killed all but three due to the testing, and have been running away with the knowledge and scrolls since I helped with Itachi (my squad mate along with the older Shisui) sort of in the massacre of his clan (behind the scene stuff) and other random shit! :3

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Jashin-sama, that was a mouthful!

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I might tell you more about my history when and if I feel like it, but I've got _things _to do… Like a mission!

"**Hurry up, Hotaru!**" Zetsu, my partner in the Akatsuki for about… a month?... said.

"Coming! Coming!" I said, snapping out of my thoughts. I flipped the bingo book over to the person Zetsu and I were to be abducting (one of my awesome specialties by the way). I _was _one of the fastest ninja in my age group back in Konoha, but I had trouble keeping up with Zetsu's Mayfly technique, damn it!

"**Well, be quicker about it!**" Zetsu snapped. "_Don't be harsh on her, now!_""**Teleportation techniques are supposed to be quicker than our Mayfly technique!**""_She only teleported part of the way here, though!_""**Wasn't she one of the quickest kunoichi in Konoha?**"

I heard Zetsu arguing with himself from my position in the tree above him. I rolled my eyes, _Nothing in my blind spot…_ "Yes I was, Zetsu. That doesn't mean much when _you_ can practically travel at the speed of light!"

"_She has a point!_" Zetsu agreed. "**Shut up!** **Hotaru, how far are we from the village?**"

I activated my Byakugan and calculated the distance quickly. "About ten kilometers…"

Zetsu grumbled something and sped up a bit. This was supposed to be a one day mission –for Zetsu at least- since it was in the Rain Country and stuff, but I was in no rush. If this man was that ugly in the book, I wouldn't want to see how he _really_ looked.

"**Okay,**" Zetsu said.

We traveled in silence for the rest of the trek to the village. There was a slight mist hovering in the sky. I was a disgusting weather by most everyone's standards, but this heavy humidity and light rain was my absolute favorite weather.

I don't know why, really, but it just felt… _right_.

Hmm, that last thought sounded like something from a bad romance novel…

Where was I, now? Oh, yeah! Right in front of the village!

So, yeah… I was just looking around the village for the man while Zetsu was chillin' or something.

This village was… _HUGE!_ It took me twenty minutes just to find the damned man!

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Yeah, twenty minutes.

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You must be thinking, "Wouldn't it take you a couple of hours to find him with the old fashion way? You know like ACTUALLY walking around to look for him way?" Why yes, yes it would, but it normally takes me _five_ minutes to find someone, even in a village this size. The bastard was using a transformation jutsu!

I sighed, "Alright, I've finally got him! He was using a damned transformation jutsu!"

"**Okay, finally! Let's go!**" Zetsu huffed. "_You shouldn't be using foul language, Hotaru. You're only 14._"

I rolled my eyes, "Yeah, so is Itachi, and do you see _him_ acting 14? Nooooooo! I didn't think so"

Zetsu glared and mumbled something about damned children. Or just people in general. Don't blame me for his independent nature!

In about five minutes we were on top of the man. Not literally! Sheesh!

Anyway, I approached the man, cloak fluttering around me dramatically as I cornered him in the dark, dirty alley.

The man I was to abduct actually was a hell of a lot better looking in person than in the bingo book. I guess he lost weight…

Anyway, I was looking all awesome in the shadows of the dark alleyway while he looked pathetic, like he was about to shit his pants.

"G-get back, l-l-little girl," he trembled. "I-I used to be an ANBU f-fr-from Iwa!"

I let my eyes narrow; I already know I'm short! I smirked, stepping ever so dramatically into the moonlight, "I know," I smirked, "It seems you've lost your touch, though."

The man couldn't even scream as I attacked. I whispered with the attack, "Gentle Fist: One Blow Body!"

I sent him flying into the brick wall. He was a failure as an ANBU, not even being able to use a substitution jutsu!

He was unconscious before he hit the floor.

Zetsu appeared from the wall, "_That was quick_."

"I know," I said smugly and deactivated my Byakugan, beginning to feel a slight eye strain.

"There!" a voice cried. "That's the little girl who took Ryo-sama!"

I didn't even turn to face them since I could see them and all that. Anyway, there was a mob of a good twenty or so men at the other end of the alley.

I snarled at them, not turning around, "I _know_ I'm short! Gosh!" I said to Zetsu, "Let's get out of here; I'm not in the mood to fight."

"**Me neither, let's go,**" Zetsu said, picking up 'Ryo.' "_C'mon, Hotaru._"

I grabbed Zetsu's outstretched hand as he faded into the wall with me and Ryo, much to the puzzlement of the mob. I closed my eyes so as not to get dirt in them.

"_We need to hurry or else Leader-sama will be upset,_" Zetsu said more to himself than to me. He sped up a bit.

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After Mayflying over to the base and reporting in to Leader-sama, I was left to interrogate the man about -ooh!- whereabouts of a kinjutsu. This should be interesting since he was supposedly an ANBU.

I turned to face 'Ryo' who was pinned to the torture table bench thingy. I began with a cheery (and beautiful!) smile directed at the man, "So, Ryo-san, how's life?"

Ryo looked up at me trembling slightly, "G-g-good. H-how'd you kn-know my n-name?"

I smiled, this time evilly, "Oh, Ryo-san, I know _everything!_"

I swear I heard him whimper. _No longer a ninja, I can just use fear! But what does he fear?_ I pondered. He mewled, "P-please don't hurt me. I-I have a w-wife a-a-and t-two kids!"

_He fears his safety and how his family would do without him, but he fears more for his safety…_ I pulled out a knife. _I'll pretend I think he cares for his family! _I began polishing the knife, "Well, just tell me what I want to know, or else I might not go back to your house."

"Wh-what?"

"Yep," I smiled. "I've got your family tied up around the dining table. Just tell me what I want to know, and I won't leave them there."

"Okay," he glanced around nervously. "Wh-what do you want?"

"Where is the scroll?"

"What?" Ryo squeaked.

I enunciated each syllable, "Where is the scroll?"

"What scroll?"

I sunk the knife into his leg with my ninja-y speed. He struggled to contain a scream. _Perhaps he does retain some of his abilities of his ninja days…_

"I won't tell you!" Ryo snarled.

"Willingly?" I smiled.

He growled, "Never! I'll never tell you!"

_Tough guy facades don't work on me, bud! _I smiled. _Especially since they're the easiest to break…_ I giggled, "Then I guess I'll have to force it out of you, now won't I?" I twisted the blade in Ryo's leg before tugging it out.

He gurgled, "Y-you'll never get it from m-me!"

I shook my head and clicked my tongue, "Oh, listen to you stutter!" I tapped his chest on a chakra point and forced some of my lightning natured chakra, my affinity, into him. I finally got him to scream.

That was a technique I developed myself for torture. I force my chakra into a person's system, usually their chest, and it causes a burning pain to spread throughout their body. If you use an elementally charged chakra, it causes even more pain. Fire is the most painful while water is the least, but if you use your elemental affinity, it's stronger. That's just given, though.

Since I first demonstrated my technique that I so aptly named Gentle Fist: Palm of Hell, it has been banned due to how extreme it is.

Good times, good times!

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It took a hell of a lot more to break Ryo than I first assumed. It turned out his façade was a bit stronger than I first reckoned.

Ryo was panting heavily on the table. I smiled as I finished writing the information of the scrolls down, "Wasn't that fun?"

"No!" He somehow still had the energy to spit at me.

I shook my head lightly and pressed a knife against his throat, ready to kill him now that he's of no more use. But first, "Now, Ryo-san, I feel like I've really gotten to know you in the past hour, so I might want to spare you from being tossed out into the river out there with a bag of rocks around your neck."

"Yeah?"

"Mm-hmm!" I nodded vigorously. "Can you summon any animal?"

"Yes." _Yes!_

"What type?" I forced Ryo to look directly in my eyes.

"Camels."

I whipped out my handy-dandy booklet of summoning I'd learned to make sure I didn't already know about summoning camels. "Hand seals?"

"Ox-Snake-Rabbit-Dog-Bird-Ox-Dog-Snake-Boar-Tiger-Ox-Snake-Ox-Bird-Ram-Ox-Ram-Bird-Dog-Ram-Snake-Tiger-Bird-Rabitt-Ox." I scribbled down the obscenely long list of hand seals. _I'm not using this in emergencies,_ I thought, a bit disappointed.

I unlatched his hands and grabbed hold of his hair to make sure he wasn't kidding or just pulling it out of his ass. "Show me."

He bit his thumb then made the hand seals nimbly even though he was trembling violently. I heard a poof, and then a camel ass was in my face.

The camel said, "Yo, Ryo-sama! Oh, you aren't looking so hot. Who must I attack?"

I growled and removed my head from the camel's buttocks. I scribbled down the remaining hand seals irritably. "Who has the summoning scroll?"

"Me." I noted that.

"Where?"

"With the kinjutsu scrolls." I also noted that.

"What!" the camel gasped. "You told this little girl about the scrolls? She couldn't be more than eleven, and no one besides you should know about that sort of thing? What happened?"

The camel whipped around to face me with a menacing fire in his eyes. I shrugged, ignoring how pissed the camel was. "I specialize in torture and interrogation," I leaned over to look Ryo in the eye. "Now, where do the camels live?"

Ryo slumped over, and returned my piercing gaze with a hollow, defeated one. He looked like the corpses Orochimaru-san experimented on, or rather the _living_ people he experimented on. "They live twelve kilometers north east of Iwa…"

"Ryo-sama!" the camel recoiled. "How dare you! First you defect from Iwa then you reveal the location of the secret camel sage techniques!" I lifted my eyebrows, curiosity getting the better of me. "That's punishable by death! RAWR!"

I jumped back as the camel reared up at Ryo and sent his hooves crashing into Ryo's skull, effectively killing him. Ryo didn't even look up to meet his killer's gaze which was kinda depressing. I may have cried had I not seen this same thing several times, or had I a heart…

The only difference was that I was the killer and they looked away due to fear… Details, details…

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I had cleaned up the mess the camel made with my kidnapee. At the moment I was sitting in the living room –serial killers have them, too!- with Sasori. We had become buds pretty fast during my short time as a member of the Akatsuki -which quite surprised me since he seems to hate kids- due to our late nights together and our interest in art and destruction of the human body. Great things to bond over, right?

At the moment I was reading while Sasori was… also reading. We had just been chillin' and lounging around for about an hour.

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My book sucked.

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"So, Sasori-san," I snapped my shitty book shut. "How's life?"

Sasori looked up from his book _Dance of the Tree Frog Magician_ a bit too willingly. I know how he feels; I've suffered through those 158 pages of hell before. I stopped at page 7, though. Sasori said, "Fine, brat. How did your mission go?"

I could tell Sasori was in one of his rare talkative moods. I blame _Dance of the Tree Frog Magician. _"Very well, I got the seals for summoning camels, but it's has an obscenely long string of hand seals to cast it." Yeah, Sasori's "talkative" moods are just him putting up with my talking.

"How long?" he asked.

"Twenty five seals," I said.

"Wow," he continued. "That isn't too useful, now is it?"

"Not at all," I said, snuggling into the warm couch. I could fall asleep.

The last thing I remember from that day was Sasori searching for a halfway decent book to read. After _Dance of the Tree Frog Magician,_ even _Twilight_ would be a good book to read!

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Guess what?

I fell asleep!

I had a dream about a man in a dark cape and spandex conjuring tree frogs from lacy lingerie. The tree frogs did a dance routine to _Free the Hungry _by the Stationary Microwaves. I think the magician was Might Guy. He's almost as creepy as my dreams.

And bands in the Rain Country.

They have a band here called Potato Salad & Ranch Dressing. I mean _seriously!_

**What did you think?**

**Let me know pretty please! **

**Okay, so Hotaru has some sue-ish qualities to her, but I know this. By the way she isn't **_**that**_** pretty. Sure she's got some nice features, but the whole "body crafted by Jashin-sama" was her ego acting up.**

**I should write more of my characters with huge egos; it entertains me, but the question is that did it entertain **_**you? **_**I really really really like reviews!**

**Please review? Please? I'll give you a bunny if you do!**

**Okay, well I'll update soon and stuff! Have a nice rest of your day/night or whatever!**


	2. Poncho

**Chapter two is finally here! I had no idea or what to do with this story, but I finally got an inspiration. Okay, there's really no excuse for it taking almost a month, so I'm sorry!**

**So all of my reviewers get bunny rabbits! They're pink and fuzzy!**

**Disclaimer! No. Just no.**

**Chapter Two! Poncho**

**xXxHotaru's POVxXx**

The fog tumbled around me as I stepped from the bathroom. Every girl needs a shower after having a crazy dream on the couch! I took a deep breath of the heavy air around me. It smelled like pomegranates or just my shampoo/conditioner/body lotion/soap/all other products used in the shower. I have a bit of a fetish, but it's all in the name of beauty.

You know what I did after stepping out of the bathroom?

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No? Well, I ran my tail over to the kitchen. (Don't worry; I had some of clothes on.) Yep, I got my oh-so-fabulous conditioner in my eye. I've lost both of my eyes (multiple times, long back story… pretty much Ao from the Mist happened), but I must admit that it doesn't quite compare to the burning of pomegranate shampoo/conditioner combo.

I guess they _were_ razor sharp blades…

In the kitchen!

I instantly ran to the refrigerator. I pulled out a piece of chocolate from the freezer and put it on my eye. I wasn't expecting any questions. Sasori or Itachi was the only one I expected to be up since we're the only ones ever up before noon on a daily basis.

It was five o'clock according to the… clock. But guess who I ran into? It was the last person I expected, the person who will kill you if you even walk by his room before lunch time.

No, no, it wasn't Kisame.

It was the scariest person in the whole entire Akatsuki since _ever_.

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Zetsu is amazing, not scary.

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Good God! It was Kakuzu!

No, he isn't a morning person…

Anyway, I met him once when I first joined, and I can honestly say he is even scarier than _butterflies_.

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Those things give me the creeps, man! I have to _stay up _when the things go bump.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaay off track here. So, Kakuzu just sort of scrutinized me with his eyes that remind me a bit too much of my days in art class. "Why do you have chocolate on your eye, Hotaru-chan?" Scary, but polite…

I laughed a bit. It goes back to my childhood. Well, further back in my childhood, anyway. "Well, you see. This is a kiss, Kakuzu-san. And, um, know how moms kiss their kid's cuts or whatever to make them better? Yeah, um, it's like that, but it tastes better."

"Okay…" Kakuzu just left throwing me a weird look. I let a breath go I wasn't aware I had been holding.

Guess who popped up? Well, yes, it _was _Zetsu! I asked, "Mission?"

"_Yep!_" he chirped. His other side said, "**We have to retrieve the scrolls of the man from yesterday.**" "_Do you have the information?_"

I pulled the piece of paper from my pocket. "Here you go!"

Zetsu took it from me. He just kept staring for a while. "_Kiss to make it better?_"

"Yeah."

"_What did you do?_"

"I got conditioner –well, _shampoo and_ conditioner- in my eye."

"_Haven't you lost an eye before?_" "**Did you put all of your clothes then run to the kitchen when you could have just rinsed it out?**"

"Yes and…" I looked down. I was, in fact, fully clothed except for my cloak and ring. We only wear those outside of the base. I guess that _would_ be most of the time, though. "…yeah…" I gave him a weak smile. "I'll get my stuff and get going."

Zetsu started phasing out of the wall, "**The scrolls are near the camels' habitat.**"

I nodded, forgetting that he had the habit of going through my stuff whenever I was asleep. He was like a mother duck, a cannibalistic mother duck.

I went back to my room to get my stuff and all that jazz. Once I slipped my robe on over my basic outfit (the normal plant tank top and trousers/capri pants/whatever with the blue shoes and leg warmers) and slid on my ring, sadly a constant reminder of to whom I lost one of my eyes **(1)**, I was almost ready to go. I pulled my hair up into a quick but flat bun (long hair gets in the way, any can obstruct my view) and put on my forehead protector. I actually do wear it on my forehead but just with the symbol turned to the right. I simply find it more unique…

I was ready. Zetsu phased into the room. "**Meet me in front of the village.**" "_Last one there buys ramen!_"

I stuck my tongue out at Zetsu as he phased away. I wasn't going to lose or let that obscenely long string of hand seals make me lose. I pulled the many hand seals from my memory, and before I knew it I was teleporting!

For those of you who have never teleported before, it is a must-do _(A/N: like French homework!)_ experience. Pretty much, your field of vision becomes black and you feel consumed by the light fluffiness of your chakra. It looks like your traveling through a tunnel with a rainbow light at the end. I'm not a fan of roller coasters, either, and I absolutely teleporting!

Anyway, the "light at the end of the tunnel," or just the camels' habitat for the less imaginative, was less than grand. It was simply an over-sized, camel-infested oasis. A grey, regal looking camel turned to stare at me. He simply blinked.

I activated my Byakugan quickly and scanned for the small town on the outskirts of Iwa. I easily found it. They seem to be very proud of their name…

One boring walk to the village later!

I got to the village right as Zetsu phased from the ground. We paused for a moment before I finally spoke, "Good timing!"

"_Yeah!_" "**Let's get going.**"

We strolled walked into the village like we owned the place. I guess we could if we so desired; I didn't see a guard in sight.

We continued passing through with the many stares from the villagers. It might have been our hats. It might have been Zetsu. It might have just been me ;). I'll be honest, though, and admit that it was Zetsu.

One awkward walk through the village later!

We finally found the place somewhere in the warehouse district. The address led us to a warehouse. I checked in the warehouse to make sure there was no opposition, but holy fuck! "It's crawling with people, Zetsu!"

"**Well, that's more your cup of tea, so have fun.**" His lighter half was a bit nicer, "_Just distract them or something while we look for the scrolls._"

I nodded and approached the door. I knew there were several waiting for me; they saw us coming. I fell easily into the gentle fist position. I activated my Byakugan and felt my chakra ripple in my palm as I preformed, "Eight Trigrams Empty Palm!"

The door was easily ripped from its hinges and flew back, taking one or two guards with it. I smirked. _This will be too easy._

One would be poorly written fight scene later!

We strolled through the village again, only about ten minutes later. The "guards" were just a bunch of civilian police investigating a murder. The one that seemed to alert them of my coming was the only ninja there. Unfortunately, he was one of the ones the door hit…

The civilians were now giving us extremely frightened looks. Splatters of blood on your clothes were really helping the badass aura we were giving off. Zetsu shifted the scrolls on his back. "_Um, I've gotta go to the toilet._" "**Don't talk to any strangers, kid.**"

"Yeah, yeah," Zetsu handed me the scrolls as I grumbled. "Whatever."

He left to look for a potty while I sat up against a random tree. I leaned back, savoring the cool shade.

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_This is the life…_ I opened my eyes suddenly realizing something of extreme importance. "Why the hell is there a tree in the middle of a fucking desert?~!" I said, activating my Byakugan. Hey, anything can be a trap. "I don't fucking get it!" I growled as I searched the tree for anything suspicious.

I saw something! It was definitely a seal of some sort or other. I zoomed in on it. I gasped.

I whispered, actually in awe of something, "The Tenth Seal!" It was an ancient seal I've only ever _heard_ of. Legend has it that it was cast on creatures who were unable to leave Earth after they died or who came back to Earth and couldn't get back by the death gods themselves. It was legendary, pure and simple.

For breaking the Hyuuga branch member seal thingy, I had extensively trained myself in the field of fuuinjustu, particularly in seal breaking. I doubted that I could ever break such a complicated seal, however, and I assume you all know how highly I see myself.

I gazed at the tree a bit longer before it finally hit me like a ton of bricks: the "tree" was chakra-based, thus easily destroyed by a hit from gentle fist. I was unsure whether or not the seal also acted as a protective barrier, but I decided to give it a go anyway with a clone of course.

I swiftly created a shadow clone ad let it do the dirty work. My clone created two needle-like shapes around either one of her hands and lashed out at the evergreen. A magenta light enveloped the tree, however, and my clone struggled with it for a few seconds.

I simply created another clone to aid the first. She joined in, and the magenta wavered the slightest bit. I decided to make one more clone to try to destroy the shield. She joined my other two clones, and the light from my clones' chakra and the tree's became much more intense.

Picture it: three blue girls with glowing hands and a tree glowing with purple in an old timey black and white photo.

It was hypnotizing, breathtakingly beautiful.

A white light began to form in between the two light sources. I grew and grew like dying star almost.

Suddenly, a gamma ray sort of… well, ray… burst out of the tree, destroying my clones immediately. I closed my sensitive eyes as had to send chakra to my feet to stay put. I felt a strong wind tear at my cloak and the numb, room temperature vibration of chakra.

As quickly as the gamma ray thingy came, it vanished. I peaked at the surrounding land, Byakugan still activated for some reason.

For some reason I didn't feel compelled to deactivate it.

I scanned the surrounding land. It looked like a wind storm had blown through! The surrounding patch of grass had all but disappeared along with the giant, out of place evergreen tree. I still had the scrolls on my back, so the most important thing was safe, however…

I brought a hand to my face. Just as I suspected, a thin scratch was etched on my cheek. I wiped the blood and turned my attention to the much more pressing matter: a white mass of chakra that looked a bit like a cat.

_That can't be right… _I deactivated my Byakugan, and yep, a small black cat sat there giving me an inquisitive look with its big copper eyes. It cocked its head a bit and said with a silky voice, "Did girl break seal?"

I nodded slowly. I _do _work a bit with summons, but talking cats that are the dropped items of trees are in a whole other field.

"Girl did!" Its ears perked. "What is girl's name?"

I said easily, "Hotaru. And what would your name be, kitty?"

Alright, I'll just say it. I hate animals. Dogs, cats, iguanas, butterflies, humans, just animals as a kingdom I find despicable.

Don't be a smartass and say that I'm named after an animal. I think I already know that.

I blame the Hyuuga naming tradition…

"Hotaru," the cat rolled my name around its tongue. "Does Hotaru-chan not like Cat?"

"Your name is cat?" I sweatdropped a bit. _A cat named Cat, _I mused. _How unoriginal… _

"No, Hotaru-chan," said the charcoal cat. "Cat just forgot his name. Does Hotaru-chan know Cat's name?"

"Um," shit, I was terrible at naming. Cat, who I now assumed was male, tilted his head expectantly. "Uh, err… How about Poncho?" I internally yell at myself, _Poncho? PONCHO? What sort of goddamned name is __**Poncho**__? I mean, seriously, what the fuck is a Poncho, anyway?_

"Poncho…" the cat I presumably dubbed Poncho tested it out for size. I was really hoping he'd reject it. No matter how much I disliked animals, I didn't want to stick such a dumb word on a sentient being. "Okay! Poncho will be Poncho's name from now on! Now why doesn't Hotaru-chan like Poncho?" the cat pouted.

"Reasons," I said vaguely. I've been told "just 'cause" is a bad reply.

Of course, Zetsu had to join in _right now. _"_Um, Hotaru, what happened?_" Zetsu looked around at the devastation.

"I don't know," I sighed. "Let's just go!"

Zetsu shrugged slightly, obviously just going to push the interrogation off until later. We started walking away from the used to be tree. But a certain feline made it all more difficult. "Wait, Hotaru-chan! Don't leave Poncho here! Take him with you!"

I stopped. Zetsu sighed, "_Told you there was something up with the kitty's chakra!_" "**Whatever. Hotaru, did you name something again?**"

"Yes…" I laughed a bit.

Zetsu sighed, "_We don't have time for this, and Leader-sama will be expecting us soon._"

I grabbed Zetsu's outstretched hand for Mayflying. Poncho cried, "Don't leave Poncho, Hotaru-chan!"

I shrugged, "Sorry."

As we were going through the ground at a rapid pace Zetsu said, "**You know you could have kept um… **_**Poncho…**_** if you had wanted to.**" "_It's almost your birthday, and I don't think anyone would mind._"

I shrugged as much as I could, "I don't like wildlife."Yes, I was actually about to turn 15. People often mistake Itachi and me as the same age (and siblings sometimes…) although I'm actually about a year older. I blame my height or lack thereof.

**And there's that! This is the beginning of the Poncho Arc. It's going to be split in half by the next arc: the Orochimaru and Itachi Arc. Yes, I forgot why this exactly had Itachi as one of the characters, but Itachi fans, don't worry! He'll be here next!**

**1) Yeah, she's the one who lost her eye to Ao. That's her ring, too. Sorry that I had to change this a bit, but it will be explained!**

**That's all! Please review!**


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